tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69367022018-11-05T06:04:27.701+04:00Azad-Hye (in English)Middle East Armenian PortalHrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.comBlogger310125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-35638364351009091162014-12-07T00:02:00.001+04:002014-12-07T00:02:08.592+04:00IAN TV<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IN6vRwiKOoY/VINgwEHwIHI/AAAAAAAAh2w/d3deo5e8IzU/s1600/flyer%2Bian%2B2-728593.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IN6vRwiKOoY/VINgwEHwIHI/AAAAAAAAh2w/d3deo5e8IzU/s320/flyer%2Bian%2B2-728593.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6089817499991285874" /></a></p><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#0b5394"><br></div></div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-4952208649042320002014-12-06T17:19:00.001+04:002014-12-06T17:19:22.946+04:00Catholicos Aram I of the See of Cilicia in UAE<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)"><div class=""><div id="id_548301b15fdc69f67875080" class=""><p>Catholicos Aram I of the See of Cilicia visited the Armenian Church of Sharjah yesterday. See below his sermon on this occasion (in Western Armenian). </p><p> In the sermon he explained the meaning of being true Christian. Also he saluted all Armenians who contribute to the advancement of the UAE community regardless of their affiliations. He also praised UAE leadership for taking care of people from all religions and nationalities in this country. </p><p> He met with representatives of <span class="">Armenian organizations and councils yesterday evening in city hotel. </span></p><div class=""><p> His Holiness will remain in UAE until 13 December during which he will meet with community personalities. </p><p> Today he is visiting the Armenian weekly school. </p><p> Scheduled activities in Abu Dhabi:</p><p> 1) The highlight of the visit: <br> Consecration of the Holy Martyrs&#39; Armenian Church in Abu Dhabi <br> 12 December 2014, 04:00pm </p><p> 2) Public reception (gala dinner) in honor of HH Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia. <br> St. Regis Hotel, Corniche Abu Dhabi<br> 12 December 2014, 08:30pm <br> Entrance fee: 350 Dirhams </p><p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOn1BfjXgtc#t=62" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOn1BfjXgtc#t=62</a></p></div></div></div><div><div><div class=""><div class="" id="u_jsonp_23_15"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div id="u_jsonp_23_16"><a class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoOn1BfjXgtc%23t%3D62&amp;h=lAQHqbQ9g&amp;enc=AZP2oFxYlO5zJxRTxnxmuIHVmKvtVQfcbcL-vPxFTU1AsEpPBQ9Xmj4Vf_M-OOX7B6a8BDOJZfzvN5iBE8JflP2D17yD_P_zBGeOt9z8q5A4emlruyIbqq_9wCcAz9z2gLQZ3o5xKatIzh1KwT70Ixd1&amp;s=1" rel="nofollow async" target="_blank"><div class=""><img class="" src="https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQBQxw1ErXb0LFjz&amp;w=158&amp;h=158&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FoOn1BfjXgtc%2Fhqdefault.jpg&amp;cfs=1&amp;upscale=1&amp;sx=57&amp;sy=0&amp;sw=360&amp;sh=360" alt="" height="158" width="158"></div><i class=""></i></a></div></div></div><div class=""><div><div class=""><div class=""><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOn1BfjXgtc#t=62" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ՎԵՀԱՓԱՌ ՀԱՅՐԱՊԵՏԻՆ ԽՕՍԱԾ ՊԱՏԳԱՄԸ՝ ՇԱՐԺԱՅԻ Ս. ԳՐԻԳՈՐ ԼՈՒՍԱՒՈՐԻՉ ԵԿԵՂԵՑՒՈՅ ՄԷՋ 05/12/2014</a></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://youtube.com">youtube.com</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-71438474670803377662014-10-20T21:20:00.001+04:002014-10-20T21:20:32.714+04:00Keeping the traditions of Kutahya Armenians<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style><div class="gmail_default" style><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">New comment by Sato Moughalian</span><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Fascinating article--a couple of corrections. Neshan Balian came to Jerusalem in October 1919, not 1917. The British were not even in Jerusalem until mid-December 1917. The Armenian ceramist David Ohannessian of Kutahya was introduced to Jerusalem Governor Ronald Storrs by Sir Mark Sykes in December 1918, and was the first to arrive. Sykes, Storrs, and a number of other British officials remembered the magnificent tiled room that Ohannessian had created for the Sykes estate in Yorkshire in 1913, and sought him out to establish a ceramics tradition in Jerusalem. Ohannessian arrived in Jerusalem in early 1919, and then went back to Kutahya in August 1919, returning with materials and with Balian and Karakashian, who were under his employ until 1922, when they left to found their own joint workshop. It is wonderful to see that the descendants of Balian and Karakashian continue their marvelous work today. </font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Original article appeared here: </font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="http://www.azad-hye.net/news/viewnews.asp?newsId=148shs73">http://www.azad-hye.net/news/viewnews.asp?newsId=148shs73</a></font></div><div style="color:rgb(11,83,148);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-8396183936979325592014-09-28T08:35:00.001+04:002014-09-28T08:35:54.720+04:00Kuwait: The Bible Society in the Gulf launches the captivating Make-Your-Own Children’s Bible in Armenian during a Special Blessing Ceremony<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SuPb0yGwUV4/VCeQK0a7FUI/AAAAAAAAhi8/Q7hmSXoG778/s1600/%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253FKuwait%253D5FThe_Bible_Society_in_the_Gulf_launches_the_captivat%253F%253D%2509%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253Fing_Make%253D2DYour%253D2DOwn_Children%253DC2%253DB9s_Bible_in_Armenian_during_a_Spe%253F%253D%2509%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253Fcial_Blessing_Ceremony_%253D281%253D29%253D5FPage%253D5F1%253D2Ejpg%253F%253D-754721"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SuPb0yGwUV4/VCeQK0a7FUI/AAAAAAAAhi8/Q7hmSXoG778/s320/%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253FKuwait%253D5FThe_Bible_Society_in_the_Gulf_launches_the_captivat%253F%253D%2509%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253Fing_Make%253D2DYour%253D2DOwn_Children%253DC2%253DB9s_Bible_in_Armenian_during_a_Spe%253F%253D%2509%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253Fcial_Blessing_Ceremony_%253D281%253D29%253D5FPage%253D5F1%253D2Ejpg%253F%253D-754721" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6063973938822321474" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T90zTR_NA1M/VCeQLwiI2GI/AAAAAAAAhjI/RzPC-FvgN5k/s1600/%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253FKuwait%253D5FThe_Bible_Society_in_the_Gulf_launches_the_captivat%253F%253D%2509%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253Fing_Make%253D2DYour%253D2DOwn_Children%253DC2%253DB9s_Bible_in_Armenian_during_a_Spe%253F%253D%2509%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253Fcial_Blessing_Ceremony_%253D281%253D29%253D5FPage%253D5F2%253D2Ejpg%253F%253D-758853"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T90zTR_NA1M/VCeQLwiI2GI/AAAAAAAAhjI/RzPC-FvgN5k/s320/%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253FKuwait%253D5FThe_Bible_Society_in_the_Gulf_launches_the_captivat%253F%253D%2509%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253Fing_Make%253D2DYour%253D2DOwn_Children%253DC2%253DB9s_Bible_in_Armenian_during_a_Spe%253F%253D%2509%253D%253FUTF-8%253FQ%253Fcial_Blessing_Ceremony_%253D281%253D29%253D5FPage%253D5F2%253D2Ejpg%253F%253D-758853" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6063973954958710882" /></a></p><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#0b5394"><br></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-39273299413499500162014-09-27T01:26:00.001+04:002014-09-27T01:26:12.768+04:00“A Middle East With No Minorities?”<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3TKS3DiiuW4/VCXZ9Nik_eI/AAAAAAAAhh0/18d4MN5TThs/s1600/unnamed-772769.png"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3TKS3DiiuW4/VCXZ9Nik_eI/AAAAAAAAhh0/18d4MN5TThs/s320/unnamed-772769.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6063492118954180066" /></a></p><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)"><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt">Reverend Paul Haidostian, President of Beirut-based Haigazian University, will be the guest of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies at a lunch-time conversation to be held on Monday, September 29, 2014, at noon at the Doheny Memorial Library Room 244, on campus.<br></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Entitled "A Middle East Without Minorities?" Dr. Haidostian will speak about the recent turmoil in the Middle East and its impact on the various ethnic and religious minorities of the region. USC Professor of International Relations, Dr. Laurie Brand, will be guiding the discussion. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times,serif">Rev. Haidostian has been president of Haigazian since 2002. In addition to his local and international responsibilities in educational, religious and ecumenical organizations, he teaches, lectures, and writes in Armenian, Arabic and English on a wide variety of topics including Armenian identity, ecumenism, youth, social issues, theology, religion, and community. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times,serif"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times,serif">Rev. Haidostian is currently the Chair of the Central Committee of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East. He will be a guest at </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times,serif;color:black;background:rgb(252,252,252)">the Institute's anniversary gala to be held at the Beverly Hilton on September 28. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times,serif"></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Dr. Laurie Brand</span><span lang="EN-US"> is a professor of international relations at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Southern_California_School_of_International_Relations" title="University of Southern California School of International Relations"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">University of Southern California School of International Relations</span></a>. She specializes in the international relations of the Middle East, including political economy of the region and inter-Arab relations. She is the author of several books on the region, including most recently, </span><i><span lang="EN-US">Official Stories: Politics and National Narratives in Egypt and Algeria</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, published by Stanford University Press. </span><span lang="EN-US">She is a past president of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East_Studies_Association_of_North_America" title="Middle East Studies Association of North America"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">Middle East Studies Association of North America</span></a> in 2004.</span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Salpi Ghazarian, the newly appointed director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, says, "We invite the community to the USC campus to this program. This is not a lecture. It's a conversation between two people who know the region well. Dr. Haidostian's intimate knowledge of the Middle East, and his readiness to share his insights are very valuable, now, at a time when we are all trying to understand what is happening in the Middle East, and why. Dr. Laurie Brand heads USC's Middle East Studies Program and we're grateful for her participation." </span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Lunch will be served.</span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">The event will be live streamed at: </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://capture.usc.edu/Mediasite/Play/ee3aadba2f524393a84af1475f990cbd1d"><span style="color:rgb(0,77,182)">https://capture.usc.edu/Mediasite/Play/ee3aadba2f524393a84af1475f990cbd1d</span></a></span></p> <p style="margin-top:0cm"><b><span lang="EN-US">Directions and parking information:</span></b></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">We advise guests to park in Parking Structure D, which is located on the corner of Jefferson and Figueroa (across from the Shrine). See attached map for the location of the event (Doheny Memorial Library, Room 244). </span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Please call (562) 508-8474 if you have any questions regarding the event, including parking and directions. </span></p> <p><b><span lang="EN-US">About the Institute</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times,serif;color:black;background:rgb(252,252,252)">Established in 2005, the USC Institute of Armenian Studies supports multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience — from post-Genocide to the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving Diaspora. The institute encourages research, publications and public service, and benefits from communication technologies that link together the global academic and Armenian communities.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times,serif;color:black;background:rgb(252,252,252)"> </span></p></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-16432510852183037782014-09-12T18:16:00.001+04:002014-09-12T18:16:05.389+04:00Basque Parliament recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh self-determination<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--B99kb0msBs/VBMAJgz0a8I/AAAAAAAAhU8/t39SDFSDQeE/s1600/image001-765389.png"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--B99kb0msBs/VBMAJgz0a8I/AAAAAAAAhU8/t39SDFSDQeE/s320/image001-765389.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6058186087169551298" /></a></p><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)"><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">​</div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial">European Friends of Armenia from Brussels reports: </span><span style="line-height:115%;text-align:right;font-family:arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span style="line-height:115%"><br></span></span></div><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-GB" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">On Friday, September 12, 2014, a European Union regional parliament has, for the first time in history, adopted a motion supporting the self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh following several official visits to the region that were organized by European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA, <a href="http://www.eufoa.org" target="_blank">www.eufoa.org</a>) and the commitment of EuFoA contacts' network.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The motion adopted today by the Basque Parliament praises the strong determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh people in their choice for democracy, despite the hard and difficult situation. In addition, it states that Karabakhi people have the right to decide their own future, namely their self-determination, which is the fundamental element in any negotiation for the final settlement of the conflict. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of Nagorno-Karabakh's participation in the OSCE Minsk Group conflict resolution negotiations. <u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Nagorno-Karabakh's Foreign Minister, Karen Mirzoyan, with the assistance of </span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148);display:inline">​​</div>European Friends of Armenia, travelled to the Basque Country on this occasion and had official visits, including meetings with Basque country government high officials, the head of the legislative, Ms Bakartxo Tejeria Otermin, and departmental and main local authorities, as well as companies with an interest in the region.<u></u><u></u><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">"I am particularly pleased by the acknowledgment of the democratic governance development of Nagorno-Karabakh and the recognition of the efforts they are doing in transposing EU legislation. The Nagorno-Karabakh society should be proud that their commitment for democracy as an inalienable part of the European space is not only recognized in the US, but also in the EU," says EuFoA Director Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Basque country is one of Spain's 17 autonomous communities since 1979 and has a population of approximately 2.5 million people. It has its own executive and legislative institutions. The Basque government is among the sub-state governments that enjoys the highest level of competences in the European Union. Basque authorities are competent to lead policies in domains such as fiscal policy and tax collection or police management, having its own police force, among other more classic competences at regional level, such as health, education, from elementary schools to universities, or territorial development. Moreover, the Basque country has its own External Actions Service, at the head of a network of over 200 political and cultural delegations worldwide. From an economic point of view, the Basque country represents one of the European Union most developed areas, showing an annual GDP per capital of over 31 000€, 20 % higher than the EU average (25 700€). <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt"></span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148);display:inline">​</div><p></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(11,83,148);display:inline">​</div>European Friends of Armenia<span style="font-size:9pt"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148);display:inline">​</div></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt">EuFoA provide</span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148);display:inline">​s​</div> commenting or background analysis in English, French, Spanish, Polish, German, Russian and Armenian. <span style="font-size:9pt">For more information on EuFoA and the Europe-Armenia Advisory Council, please visit website at </span><span lang="FR"><a href="http://www.EuFoA.org" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:9pt">www.EuFoA.org</span></a></span><span style="font-size:9pt">.</span> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u></p> </div> </div> </div> </div><br><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)">​<span style="font-family:arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:14.9499998092651px;text-align:right"><span style="line-height:14.9499998092651px">Brussels, 12 Septe</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:14.9499998092651px;text-align:right"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height:14.9499998092651px">mber </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:14.9499998092651px;text-align:right"><span style="line-height:14.9499998092651px">2014</span></span>​</div><br></div></div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-29806239687981242572014-09-11T12:32:00.001+04:002014-09-11T12:34:13.170+04:00Live Broadcast: International Hrant Dink Award<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br clear="all" /></div><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div style="margin: auto; width: 700px;"><br /><div align="center"><strong> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qtoqxNRUAFo/VBFeNnjlaVI/AAAAAAAAhUg/XTddBchHDzI/s1600/logo-773962.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qtoqxNRUAFo/VBFeNnjlaVI/AAAAAAAAhUg/XTddBchHDzI/s320/logo-773962.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6057726561839573330" /></a><br /><br /> INTERNATIONAL HRANT DINK AWARD CEREMONY <br /> LIVE ON INTERNET <br /> <br /> AWARD CEREMONY <br /> 15 September 2014 <br /> between 20:00- 22:00</strong></div><br /><br />The International Hrant Dink Award Ceremony, which will be presented for the sixth time on Hrant Dink's birthday, September 15, will be broadcasted live in English on <a href="http://www.hrantdink.org/" target="_blank">www.hrantdink.org</a> and <a href="http://www.hrantdinkaward.org/" target="_blank">www.hrantdinkaward.org</a>.<br /><br />The details of the night will also be available on <strong>Facebook</strong> pages 'Uluslararası Hrant Dink Ödülü / International Hrant Dink Award' and 'Hrant Dink Vakfı / Hrant Dink Foundation / Հրանդ Տինք Հիմնարկ' and 'HrantDinkVakfi' ve 'HrantDinkAward' accounts on <strong>Twitter</strong> in 3 languages, being Turkish, English and Armenian.<br /><br />The award ceremony will take place on September 15th, 2014 between the hours 20.00-22.00 (between UTC/GMT +2 hours and UTC/GMT +4 hours) at Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall. At the ceremony, <strong>Ara Dinkjian</strong> and <strong>Ari Hergel</strong> will take to the stage, and the awardees of 2014 will be announced. The ceremony will be presented by <strong>Olgun Simsek</strong>.<br /><br />The Jury of the International Hrant Dink Award 2014 consists of Baskın Oran, Gerard Libaridian, Kenneth Roth, Kumi Naidoo, Mary Kaldor, Nataša Kandić, Saturday Mothers / People, Oya Baydar and Rakel Dink<br /><br />Every year, the award is presented to two people, groups or institutions from inside and outside Turkey, who work for a world free of discrimination, racism, and violence, take personal risks for their ideals, use the language of peace, and by doing so, inspire and encourage others.<br /><br />With this award, the Foundation aims to remind to all those who struggle for these ideals that their voices are heard, their work is visible and that they are not alone, and also to encourage everyone to fight for their ideals.<br /><br />Alper Görmüş, Amira Hass, the Conscientious Objection Movement of Turkey, Baltasar Garzón, Ahmet Altan, Lydia Cacho, İsmail Beşikçi, International MEMORIAL Society, Nataša Kandić and Saturday Mothers / People are the former laureates of the International Hrant Dink Award. </div></div></div><br /></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-9299088553105266212014-08-26T19:41:00.001+04:002014-08-26T19:41:54.290+04:00Asbarez & Aztag Editors Discuss Challenges for Middle East Armenians<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)"><div class=""><h1 class=""><a class="" href="http://asbarez.com/App/Asbarez/eng/2014/08/asb-azt-yerevan.jpg" style="font-size:small;font-weight:normal"><img src="http://asbarez.com/App/Asbarez/eng/2014/08/asb-azt-yerevan.jpg" alt="" title="" class="" height="405" width="600"></a><br> </h1><div class=""><div id="attachment_126275" class="" style="width:610px"><p class="">Asbarez editor Apo Boghigian (left) with Beirut&#39;s Aztag daily editor Shahan Kandaharian at a press conference in Yerevan. (Photo: Photolur)</p></div><br> BY LENA BADEYAN<p></p> <p>YEREVAN (ArmRadio)—Recent events in the Middle East suggest that motives and geopolitical goals have changed. The situation will inevitably affect the large Armenian communities formed in the Middle East in the last one hundred years since the Armenian Genocide. But all is not against Armenians, editor-in-chief of the Beirut-based Aztag daily newspaper Shahan Kandaharian and editor of Los Angeles-based Asbarez daily Apo Boghigian told reporters in Yerevan.</p> <p>The ongoing instability and new developments in Middle East countries with large Armenian communities are of strategic importance for Armenians both in Armenia and the diaspora, they said.</p> <p>According to Shahan Kandaharian, the trend of events has considerably changed and has grown into a struggle for resources.</p> <p>"The Arab Spring has now changed its face, and the radical expressions of Islamism constitute the major threat today both for the region and the world," he said.</p> <p>Kandaharian said the situation in Lebanon is relatively calm compared to its neighboring countries. He believes Lebanon will not engage in what he called a regional war. He considers, however, that difficult days are awaiting the Armenians of the Middle East. The question refers to the migration of Armenians, who are leaving mostly in two directions – Lebanon or Armenia. Whether they move permanently or temporarily is a different question, he added.</p> <p>Speaking about the American Armenian Diaspora, Asbarez editor Apo Boghigian said: "We should create a situation where we can turn the loss into some gain. The US is an environment where there is an issue of survival. The problems of assimilation and maintenance of the Armenian organizations can no longer remain unsolved. We need to search for new ways, new methods."</p> <p>Thus, the new situation is a challenge to Armenia, and particularly the Ministry of Diaspora. Major problems are the preservation of language and the availability of authentic information to avoid unnecessary panic. Apo Boghigian pointed to the Kessab events as an example of unsuccessful media coverage of an event.</p><p>Source: <a href="http://asbarez.com/126274/asbarez-aztag-editors-discuss-challenges-for-middle-east-armenians/">http://asbarez.com/126274/asbarez-aztag-editors-discuss-challenges-for-middle-east-armenians/</a></p> </div></div></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-39355177373617314562014-08-19T03:17:00.001+04:002014-08-19T03:17:17.052+04:00Fwd: USC Dornsife's Dean Kay Appoints New Armenian Institute Director and Faculty<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#0b5394"><br clear="all"></div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div></div></div><div class="gmail_quote"><br><table width="700" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><table width="700" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" align="center"> <tbody><tr> <td> <a href="http://dmanalytics1.com/e3ds/mail_link.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usc.edu%2F&amp;i=0&amp;d=Y89XWYU1-7749-435W-8Z6Z-4XX6YW0VV0YY&amp;e=hrach@azad-hye.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/1/imgs/news_events/dornsife_press_release/release-bottom-bar.jpg" alt="USC Southern California" width="700" height="44" border="0"></a> <table width="700" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="698"><table width="700" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td><table width="700" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody><tr> <th width="300" scope="row"><a href="http://dmanalytics1.com/e3ds/mail_link.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdornsife.usc.edu%2F&amp;i=1&amp;d=Y89XWYU1-7749-435W-8Z6Z-4XX6YW0VV0YY&amp;e=hrach@azad-hye.com" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/1/imgs/news_events/dornsife_press_release/press_release_banner.jpg"></a></th> <td><br> </td><td align="right" valign="bottom" scope="row"></td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table width="650" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td scope="row"> <div style="font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19px"> <p>August 18, 2014</p> <h1 style="font-size:18px;color:#990000">News Release</h1> <h2>Dean Kay Appoints New Armenian Institute Director and Faculty</h2> <p style="color:#990000"><em>Salpi Ghazarian, a senior nonprofit and education sector professional, will lead USC Dornsife&#39;s Institute of Armenian Studies. Armenian studies scholars Richard Antaramian and Richard Hovannisian will bring their expertise to the institute as affiliated faculty.</em></p> <p><strong>Contact:</strong> Michelle Boston at (213) 821-9311 or <a style="color:#990000;text-decoration:underline" href="mailto:msboston@dornsife.usc.edu" target="_blank">msboston@dornsife.usc.edu</a></p> <p>On August 14, USC Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences Dean Steve Kay announced the appointment of Salpi Ghazarian as director of USC Dornsife&#39;s Institute of Armenian Studies (IAS) at a gathering of the IAS leadership council and supporters. In addition, Kay appointed Armenian studies scholars Richard Antaramian as the Turpanjian Early Career Chair in Contemporary Armenian Studies and assistant professor of history, and Richard Hovannisian as adjunct professor of history. </p> <p>Established in 2005 as part of the long partnership between USC and the Armenian community, the institute is structured as a multidisciplinary center of learning and research.</p> <p>Ghazarian begins her post on Aug. 18. She arrives from the think-tank and advocacy group Civilitas Foundation, where she was founding director. Managing a team of 60 professional and support staff, Ghazarian helped introduce a new culture of civic activism to Armenia&#39;s struggling democracy by establishing and expanding the foundation&#39;s programming to include civil society strengthening, Internet media, and research and publishing. </p> <p>Antaramian will be the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Early Career Chair in Contemporary Armenian Studies. He brings with him a vast knowledge of Armenian history and culture. He was recently awarded his Ph.D. in history from the University of Michigan with a dissertation titled: &quot;In Subversive Service of the Sublime State: Tanzimat, Consolidating Jurisdiction, and Armenian Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1844–1896.&quot;</p> <p>Hovannisian will take a leading role in advising USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education in its efforts to integrate nearly 400 interviews of Armenian Genocide survivors into its Visual History Archive, a collection of 53,000 testimonies of the Holocaust and other genocides.</p> <p>The Armenian interviews were recently given to the USC Shoah Foundation by the Armenian Film Foundation, and represent the work of the late Dr. J. Michael Hagopian, an Armenian Genocide survivor who filmed the interviews in 16mm between 1968 and 2004. Testimonies from the collection will begin to be integrated into the Visual History Archive by April 24, 2015, the centennial of the historic event.</p> <p>Hovannisian is a Guggenheim Fellow and has received many honors for his scholarship, civic activities and advancement of Armenian studies. He is also the cofounder and three-time president of the Society for Armenian Studies.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/1/imgs/news_events/2014/08/IMG_0032_500.jpg" width="" height="" align=""></p> <p align="center"></p><h6>USC Dornsife Dean Steve Kay (second from right) announced the appointments of Richard Antaramian (left), Richard Hovannisian and Salpi Ghazarian (right) during a gathering of the leadership council and supporters of USC Dornsife&#39;s Institute of Armenian Studies. Photo by Shahe Melelian.</h6> <p></p> <p>&quot;Salpi Ghazarian has a stellar background — both personally and professionally — to lead USC Dornsife&#39;s Institute of Armenian Studies,&quot; Kay said. &quot;Every year there is an average of up to 1,000 Armenian Trojan students. Under Salpi&#39;s direction and with the expertise of Richard Hovannisian and Richard Antaramian, the institute will continue to play an integral role in our mission to provide students and researchers with the tools they need for a comprehensive, interdisciplinary understanding of Armenia&#39;s past, present and evolving future.&quot;</p> <p>Since its founding in 1880, USC has educated thousands of Armenian Americans who have gone on to distinguished careers in business, government, the arts and the professions. The institute offers courses in Armenian studies and has organized major community events, international conferences, symposia, exhibits, and concerts. On Sept. 28, 2014, the institute&#39;s achievements will be honored with an anniversary gala in Los Angeles.</p> <p>Charles Ghailian, chair of the institute&#39;s Leadership Council noted how fitting it is that these appointments come just as the institute is preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary. </p> <p>&quot;The Leadership Council is grateful for the work of all those who supported, served and invested in the institute in its first decade, and now, continuing the partnership between the university and the Armenian community, we are committed to a new decade of innovative programming,&quot; Ghailian said &quot;We welcome Richard Antaramian, Salpi Ghazarian, and of course Richard Hovannisian, and on Sept. 28 we will focus on that future.&quot;</p> <p></p> <p><strong>About the USC Institute of Armenian Studies:</strong> Established in 2005, the USC Institute of Armenian Studies supports multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience — from post-Genocide to the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving Diaspora. The institute encourages research, publications and public service, and benefits from communication technologies that link together the global academic and Armenian communities. </p> <p><strong>About USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences:</strong> <a href="http://dmanalytics1.com/e3ds/mail_link.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdornsife.usc.edu&amp;i=2&amp;d=Y89XWYU1-7749-435W-8Z6Z-4XX6YW0VV0YY&amp;e=hrach@azad-hye.com" target="_blank">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences</a> is the heart of the university. The largest, oldest and most diverse of USC&#39;s 19 schools, USC Dornsife is composed of more than 30 academic departments and dozens of research centers and institutes. USC Dornsife is home to approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and more than 750 faculty members with expertise across the humanities, social sciences and sciences.</p> <p></p> <br clear="all"> <br clear="all"> <img border="0" src="http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/1/imgs/news_events/dornsifeconnections/spacer.gif" width="1" height="30" alt=""><br> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <a href="http://dmanalytics1.com/e3ds/mail_link.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usc.edu%2F&amp;i=0&amp;d=Y89XWYU1-7749-435W-8Z6Z-4XX6YW0VV0YY&amp;e=hrach@azad-hye.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/1/imgs/news_events/dornsife_press_release/release-bottom-bar.jpg" alt="USC Southern California" width="700" height="44" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img height="0" width="0" border="0" src="http://dmanalytics1.com/e3ds/mail_view.php?d=Y89XWYU1-7749-435W-8Z6Z-4XX6YW0VV0YY&amp;e=hrach@azad-hye.com"> </div><br></div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-84943056286225157142014-08-01T22:33:00.001+04:002014-08-01T22:33:12.597+04:00Karabagh unveils new homes for Syrian-Armenians<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style><div class="gmail_default" style><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">As part of its ongoing assistance to Syrian-Armenians resettling in </span><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Karabagh, the Tufenkian Foundation has organized a number of fundraisers around the world. </span></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">As a result of these activities, the Foundation recently participated in financing the renovation of two apartment buildings in the NKR Kashatagh region. </font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The first building is a 12-apartment building in Kovsakan town, while the second is a 10-apartment building in Ishkhanadzor village. Both are situated in Southern Kashatagh.</font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">We are glad to inform that the renovation of the Kovsakan building has</font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">been completed, and the official opening took place on April 10.</font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://tufenkianfoundation.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8afc6ca0b6e73b80d4b8ed2a6&amp;id=672c782e8d&amp;e=9f802762f8">Read more here</a></b>.</font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><br></div></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-42669603956951032032014-08-01T06:37:00.001+04:002014-08-01T06:37:56.591+04:00German film director of Turkish origin Fatih Akin's new film<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><span class=""><span class="">A father learns that his twin daughters have survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915. He travels many countries including Cuba, USA (Dakota) following their traces. <br> <br> The movie i<span class="">s in German language and starts from the city of Mardin in Turkey. </span></span><br> <br> See the trailer. Movie will be available in October. Now it is being displayed in the Venice Film Festival. <br> <br> </span></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><a class="" href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrSHl2oZB_VA&amp;h=1AQGCiXIcAQGI3Tw2w3RCL_Xa3Su3RY-3iTv1M5yQQFRXCA&amp;enc=AZNjUf8Ll9o9OoYFQi5jePSwcGA_70houLgSVYHcBc2E85auQzBe4Ey2XTGSJzwOAc45FwM7zHqdUB2ctmmGdL0GqeAU2AuQwbrDKDdotUB9VellsQw8ocjlT_16P6Jt1sCjikTX-tDd_oEK5cdAlyf-TcVKYkZUwGxl1LNFUuRdlw&amp;s=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><div class="" id="u_jsonp_7_1t"> <i class=""></i><img class="" src="https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/y4/r/-PAXP-deijE.gif" alt="" style="background-image: url(https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQD1bvRqFgmxQ7ht&amp;w=116&amp;h=116&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FrSHl2oZB_VA%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&amp;cfs=1);" height="116" width="116"></div> </a><div class=""><div class=""><a class="" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSHl2oZB_VA" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><div class=""><div class="" id="u_jsonp_7_29"><div class="" dir="ltr">The Cut Trailer deutsch german HD (2014)</div> </div><div class="" dir="ltr" id="u_jsonp_7_1v">Deutscher Kinostart: 16. Oktober 2014 Genre: Drama DVD bei Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/m7yf7pt http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2245171/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Im Abschlu</div></div></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class=""> <div class=""><div class=""><div class=""></div></div></div></div></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-8772754199383342242014-07-28T14:25:00.001+04:002014-07-28T14:25:54.743+04:00Tourism: Where do citizens of Armenia travel?<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)"><br style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify"><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify"> <strong><font color="#ff0000"><a href="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/a1/zvartnots-ararat.jpg"><img border="3" hspace="5" alt="" vspace="5" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/a1/zvartnots-ararat.jpg" align="left" style="height: 335px; width: 464px;"></a>By Meri Martirosyan</font></strong></p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify"><em>Azad-Hye</em></p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Leisure is an important precondition for enjoying an active working life.</p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify"><font color="#660000">Due to pressing social reasons, not all Armenians are able to relax in the Summer. There is even an anecdote saying that only wealthy people in Armenia can vacate inside the country, while people belonging to the middle class can only afford leisure breaks abroad.</font></p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Where do our compatriots head for their summer vacations? It turns out that their preferences have not changed. The leading countries are Georgia, Greece, Cyprus, Antalya (in Turkey) for those with modest resources, and Italy, Spain, France and other European countries for people with higher income.</p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Travel agencies mention that the number of Armenians planning to visit European countries has recently dropped due to visa-related red tape issues.</p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Many Armenians prefer Egypt for their vacation. Others head to Dubai, where, according to the tour operators, one can spend just 750-800 dollars a week for a double room with breakfast in a good-looking hotel, while holidaying in Bulgaria may cost around 1,000 Euros and going to Italy or Spain may need a budget of 1500 Euros for the same period. </p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Georgia is still the most popular tourism destination for Armenians, where a 7-day holiday begins with a mere 50,000 drams ($123), including hotel accommodation, food and transportation. Price affordability and beach attractions are the two main elements that make Georgian tourism desirable.</p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Statistics show that the number of Armenians going for tourism to Adjara (one of the Georgian seaside provinces) is about 60-70,000. Train, bus, and motor vehicles are the common transportation means for accessing the destination.</p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">It is noteworthy that in 2012 the number of tourists visiting Armenia was 603,074, with an increase of 9.4% compared to the previous year. It is not clear, however, if these figures represent the tourists or almost everyone who has visited Armenia.</p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">The number of tourists increases in Armenia during different events such as the festival of traditional food in the town of Akhtala and the wine festival in the village of Areni. Soon there would be a new tourism festival in Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia, thus further highlighting the country's rich traditions.</p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Experts affirm that more coordinated efforts would enable Armenia to join the list of enticing countries, where taking a holiday is not just fun, but also affordable.</p> <p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Related: <strong>Consider Armenia (</strong><a href="http://www.considerarmenia.com/"><strong>www.ConsiderArmenia.com</strong></a><strong>)</strong></p> <div><strong><br></strong></div><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;text-align:justify"></p></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-48777219320277494712014-07-26T17:48:00.002+04:002014-07-26T17:48:34.002+04:00Hasmik Ter Grigoryan talks about her research on Syrian Armenians<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3QNNgRjUqMk/U9Ow1r_UZEI/AAAAAAAAf-8/HbCVyLKP2b8/s1600/hasmik-ter-grigoryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3QNNgRjUqMk/U9Ow1r_UZEI/AAAAAAAAf-8/HbCVyLKP2b8/s1600/hasmik-ter-grigoryan.jpg" height="167" width="320" /></a></div>Hasmik Ter Grigoryan talks about her research: "The Syrian crisis and the Armenian community: Between two homelands: Armenia or Syria?" <br /><br />The research is conducted in the Summer of 2013 and involves interviews with 150 Syrian Armenians stationed in Yerevan after the Syrian crisis.<br /><br />Interview audio (in Armenian)<br /><br /><a href="http://lratvakan.am/?p=39945&amp;fb_action_ids=495094760621187">http://lratvakan.am/?p=39945&amp;fb_action_ids=495094760621187</a>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-61837972931813083232014-07-24T02:41:00.001+04:002014-07-24T02:42:53.638+04:00News from Armenia in the Turkish Media<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default"><div class="" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(239,239,239); border-bottom-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(239,239,239); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; overflow: visible; padding: 15px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 640px;"><strong style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Journalist and HaberTurk TV presenter Vildan Ay was in Yerevan as a participant in the Hrant Dink Foundation's exchange program for Armenian and Turkish journalists. She talks to CivilNet about her impressions of Armenia and how the Turkish media report on Armenia.</strong></div><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Harout Ekmanian: You were in Armenia two years ago with another group of Turkish journalists. What has changed since your first visit?</div><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vildan Ay: During these two and a half years, a lot has changed, as I observed from the architecture, I guess, large-scale construction is going on in the streets of Yerevan. &nbsp;But beyond that, bilateral relations between the two countries are much worse than before, which is really sad. &nbsp;And we are sharing a common problem too. What's going on in Syria is affecting both countries in different ways. First of all, we have people, we have brothers, sisters, living there and they have to leave their countries. Armenia is also hosting people from Syria, we are also hosting people from Syria. And so the issue of Syria has now become much more prominent in these two and a half years.</div><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Harout Ekmanian: &nbsp;What about the other side. What has changed in Turkey regarding Armenia since two years ago? You have covered a lot of news about Armenia in that period, and now you're going back and you will continue doing so. What are your impressions? Maybe you can start by telling us the image of Armenia in Turkish media, not Armenians, but Armenia itself.</div><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vildan Ay: The thing is, Turkey is about to forget the "protocols" and normalization process between the two countries. Which is so sad. Three years ago, the "protocols" process was still not forgotten and there are still more people leading that process or supporting that process. But during these three years lots of things happened in Turkey's foreign policy which made us, made the public, even the media, forget the Armenian-Turkish normalization process. And when we talk about the image of Armenia, we see that in Turkish media, you barely see, or read, or watch any news related to Armenia because we have lots of Armenians living in Turkey, under Turkish citizenship. But with regard to Armenia, there must be something really big to be covered by the Turkish media. Because, first of all, the Turkish media covers foreign politics less than local politics. Because local politics is huge, the debate is so big. It's such a polarized country, the government and the opposition are always arguing with each other, which makes local news much more important in the eyes of journalists. And so it leaves little space for international news. That is why there is no space even for a short news item about Armenia. &nbsp;Many people have already forgotten about the normalization process and why we need this. &nbsp;They forget about the reason, they forget about the motivation for the process. However, on every April 24 all the Turkish people, the Turkish media, and the Turkish politicians remember that we have a frozen problem in the fridge. But it's remembered only at that period, not in January or September. Because the issue of relations between Turkey and Armenia is so much related, in my opinion, in a very wrong way, to the genocide issue. So, the worst thing about covering news about Armenia in the Turkish media is the lack of information and the lack of courage. Unless if something's happening in Karabakh, or if something really big is happening at the border…</div><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Harout Ekmanian: Next year, as you know, is the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. There are huge expectations, there are huge plans by both countries. I think even more maybe in Turkey. As you know, the prime minister also made some announcements that they will organize a big celebration of the centenary of the battle of Gallipoli. Do you think that these things, even if not willingly or indirectly, will nonetheless perhaps help to generate more news about Armenia in Turkey?</div><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vildan Ay: It may at least have the effect of bringing the process out of its frozen state. Now, the focus in Turkey is on the Presidential elections, but it's going to be over one day and after that, especially in the new year, people will start to think about what are we going to see on April 24, especially the statement coming from the White House. Because each year, everyone is waiting for that statement and waiting for the answer whether Obama would use the word Genocide or if he is going to say Mets Yeghern again. This is a big issue in Turkey. And, yes, the Turkish State or Turkish government has announced that they are going to celebrate the anniversary of the battle of Gallipoli, but that will be in March. So, I guess from both sides they don't have a master plan yet. &nbsp;They're not sure yet about what to do. But the Prime Minister's statement last April was a surprise for all of us, as a journalist and as a citizen of Turkey, it was a surprise for me. So maybe we will see new surprises from the Turkish government. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Harout Ekmanian: Several groups of Turkish journalists have come to Yerevan. Is this helping in your opinion? Is this helping Turkish journalists to have more access and first hand information? From your personal experience, what can you tell us? &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vildan Ay: Sometimes I'm optimistic, sometimes I'm not. So, let's start with the optimistic approach. Yes, that's helping a lot because we have to build bridges between us because there is a closed border, there are politicians who are not speaking to each other. So we have to overcome the issues between us by building these bridges. And inviting journalists from each country to the other is helping, because the media echoes the voice of the public; we have the power to reach hundreds, thousands, and even millions of people at the same time by our newsletters, by broadcasting, by covering stories. So, by reaching one single journalist, you may reach millions of people. Yes, this is the optimistic approach to this dialogue process. And by just considering us as individuals, as a Turkish girl who has never been to Armenia before, it will be my first time here, it will be my first time to meet someone from Armenia, and it will be the first time that I have a chance to talk about the issues between two countries. So, yes, this is very helpful. But sometimes we get pessimistic every time we make an effort, we try to contribute to the process, but politicians do nothing. Sometimes they are even downplaying the efforts that we make. They do things that are very harmful for the process. Then we ask ourselves why we are trying if these politicians won't get together… Also, the few people who are already getting together are the people who believe in peacemaking, dialogue, who believe in creating relations between each country. But what about the majority? When I think about Turkey, I see that there are masses of people who don't dare even to think about this issue. All what matters for them is their daily life, and they don't care about politics, dialogue, peacemaking. Despite all this, I still define myself as desperately optimistic. Even the desperate times, when you don't have anything to rely on, I guess we should keep making efforts in this process.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arian AMU',Helvetica,Arial,ArianAMU,'Arian AMU',sylfaen,mshtakan,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Source:&nbsp;</div><div style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arian AMU, Helvetica, Arial, ArianAMU, Arian AMU, sylfaen, mshtakan, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://civilnet.am/interview-vildan-ay.turkey-round-up-armenia-turkish-media-/">http://civilnet.am/interview-vildan-ay.turkey-round-up-armenia-turkish-media-/</a></span></span></div><div style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QhxeJLSGt7k" width="650"></iframe></div></div></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-60551492109581022522014-07-22T00:23:00.001+04:002014-07-22T00:23:48.504+04:00The Dead Become Statistics in Syria<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)"><h1 class=""><a href="http://civilnet.am/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/manuel-graves1.jpg" style="font-size:small;font-weight:normal"><img class="" title="manuel-graves" src="http://civilnet.am/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/manuel-graves1.jpg" alt="" height="300" width="450"></a></h1> <h1 class=""><p style="font-size:small;font-weight:normal">By Manuel Keshishian</p><div><span style="font-size:small;font-weight:normal">Civilnet.am </span></div><div><span style="font-size:small;font-weight:normal">&quot;Let us commemorate the dead with a minute's silence."</span><br> </div></h1><p>Those words make us stand up during the introduction speech of a ceremony. We remain silent, the silence seems to last forever, although in reality it is far less than a minute, and the voice of the speaker is heard once again – Thank you.</p><p>We sit down. The ceremony starts.</p><p dir="ltr">…</p><p>Peaceful protests, street protests… There is shooting. News spread: two people wounded in Homs; one of them severely injured… People have been wounded in Damascus as well, in Daraa, Hama… Fear surrounds us, and another dead person: First name, last name… We get frightened, we get sad, deep, we get to feel very deep pain… The funeral is broadcast on different television channels. Thousands participate in the funeral, wearing expressions of fury and protest on their faces. Teardrops fall from the faces of some, calls to extract responsibility are heard, to punish the murderer and his master …</p><p>Two explosions rattle the city of Aleppo. Aleppo turns into an ocean of fear… There is an Armenian among those killed: Viken.. Viken was a soldier in the Syrian army. Hundreds of Armenians attend the funeral.</p><p>Blood has been shed, reconciliation is therefore impossible. An opposition army is formed, opposition armies, and blood keeps being shed.. "There are two deaths today, this and that… Eight deaths today, that person among them… The incidents develop from cannons and artillery to MIG and Sukhoy bomber jets.. The number of Syrian deaths is multiplied, funerals increase, the number of participants decrease.. The number of innocent Syrian-Armenian deaths passes a hundred, Vrej: the last one.. And the final one: Krikor…</p><p>The Syrian Arabs? Sunni, Shia, Ismaili. How many deaths do they have? Kurds? Islam, Yezidi. The total number of deaths exceeds one hundred fifty thousand, among them: Mohammad, Ali, Ismail, George and Aram… Alia, Fatima, Sama, Haykuhi…</p><p>And the number of names becomes greater, they become forgotten while their numbers increase, they turn into meaningless numbers… How many what? – Fifty sheep? Five kilos of oranges? Three dozen goats? Or hundreds of thousands of dead people who did not deserve this…</p><p>Deaths, deaths all around Syrian lands, number-numbers…</p><p dir="ltr">What happened? What has occurred? How did the Syrian, who did not even want to hurt a fly, get paid to become a murderer or, as some people believe, was transformed into one, and has killed, has slaughtered, when not so long ago it was hard for him or her to slaughter a sheep or even a chicken?</p><p dir="ltr">How much higher will the number of handicapped people go? The number of innocent deaths? And they are going to remain numbers, just numbers.. But weren't they human beings? Abdo was a father of two, the children were going to go to university, serve the country, make their family proud… Armine was engaged and hoped to marry the man she loved, hoped to get pregnant, have children, bring them up to become responsible citizens… And find personal, impersonal happiness.. Ali was a doctor… Ismail had just recently defended his thesis and was to pass on his knowledge and findings to the upcoming generations… Ahmed, the elder… Hasan, the laborer… The beautiful Aisha… Samir, who had a broad chest… The intelligent Antranig… All of them… Names, which have been turned into numbers and even reading each and every one of their names, in front of the UN center in Washington D.C. recently, did not change a thing, even worse, the UN officially silenced the Syrian deaths… Even the counting…</p><p>Our deaths have become name-numbers, simply numbers…</p><p>Does any purpose or belief justify killing this many people?</p><p>Deaths that are added to the number of innocent deaths in the history of humanity and change nothing? Is it because these numbers are too small compared to the billions of Earth, or because they hold no meaning in the eternity of the universe? But are not the millions the sum of Ahmed, Alice, Johnny, Smith, Armine, Yokoyo? Is not the eternal universe the sum of the smallest atoms? And is not it clear that a human being can excavate the whole universe, or the the smallest particle that makes it up? And what is the meaning of the universe without human beings? Or would we also like to strip the HUMAN of his or her worth?</p><p>To witness all this, to be a witness and not lose your mind, because you feel, you reason that you are an abettor as well in a way, because you too lie on the same denominator with the dead and their killers, you are a human as well… And you only run in order to save your own skin.</p><p>Where is humanity? Where is the human in the image of God? We often accuse Islamic fanaticism of being inhuman. Why do we forget that the one who supports them, who provides them with weapons and power, is the civilized Christian, the one who professes the monotheism of another religion, the peaceful buddhist too…</p><p>Where is humanity? Or is the perception of the human we have had in mind for thousands of years wrong? Good, kind, conscious, soulful…. Is this all a huge SCAM? Is this the HUMAN? Robber-immoral-fratricide…</p><p>And now, HUMAN! Shut up for a second! Look at the dead who had first and last names just yesterday, and have become numbers today, they are silent as well, but they yell in your face; they ask you for justice…</p><p>Aleppo, 14 July 2014<br></p><p>Read this <a href="http://civilnet.am/voices-manuel-keshishian-syria-graves/">in Armenian</a>.</p><p>Read also by the same author: </p><p><a href="http://civilnet.am/voices-manuel-keshishian-syria-armenians-place-eng/" rel="bookmark" title="Do Armenians Have a Place in Syria?"><img src="http://civilnet.am/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/275-21-160x68.jpg" class="" alt="275-2" title="" height="51" width="120"></a></p> <p><a href="http://civilnet.am/voices-manuel-keshishian-syria-armenians-place-eng/" rel="bookmark" title="Do Armenians Have a Place in Syria?">Do Armenians Have a Place in Syria</a></p><p><br></p></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-46472861451204085242014-07-21T02:31:00.001+04:002014-07-21T02:33:10.589+04:00Anush Hovhannisyan at Concert Arias & Beethoven's Seventh<div class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tfK_8F6DbU0/U8xDSfnRciI/AAAAAAAAVZc/lF1gVqb9NFs/s1600/Anush%2BHovhannissian-795915.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tfK_8F6DbU0/U8xDSfnRciI/AAAAAAAAVZc/lF1gVqb9NFs/s320/Anush%2BHovhannissian-795915.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6038275185399919138" /></a></div><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-2725202716150360982014-07-21T02:11:00.001+04:002014-07-21T02:14:04.845+04:00Hrayr Jebejian Awarded Ambassador of the Motherland Medal<div class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eDMcbryv__0/U8w-rlWLOhI/AAAAAAAAVZQ/FR4WL6Z4_J8/s1600/Hrayr%2BJebejian%2BAwarded%2B02-718268.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eDMcbryv__0/U8w-rlWLOhI/AAAAAAAAVZQ/FR4WL6Z4_J8/s320/Hrayr%2BJebejian%2BAwarded%2B02-718268.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6038270118877411858" /></a></div><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div><div dir="ltr"><div></div></div></div></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-55941448840594937162014-07-20T17:17:00.001+04:002014-07-20T17:22:02.005+04:00Incident against the representatives of the Armenian Church in Tbilisi<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default"><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-szuw--Gkm9U/U8vB8ge4VII/AAAAAAAAVYA/X_r8UtelM8I/s1600/Echmiadzin_Church_in_Tbilisi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-szuw--Gkm9U/U8vB8ge4VII/AAAAAAAAVYA/X_r8UtelM8I/s1600/Echmiadzin_Church_in_Tbilisi.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></span></a><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;">Azad-Hye</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6936702" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6936702" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;">We received a report by the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia according to which a pre-planned attack was carried on the representatives of the Saint Etchmiadzin church in Tbilisi, Georgia on 19 July 2014.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6936702" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;">The incident began when an attempt was made to drive through a territory next to the churchyard. A Georgian woman got angry against an Armenian clergyman whose car was allegedly blocking the way. Soon afterwards two Georgians arrived at the scene and helped to take out the vehicle. They used foul language against the Armenians and attempted to hit them with stone. A short fight developed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14.949999809265137px;">Two hours later, one of the Georgians mobilized a group of several dozen men and approached the church using obscene language against the Armenians.</span><br /><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;">At the same time, a baptism ceremony was going on in the Church. The attackers assaulted also the ceremony participants. Women and children were obliged to hide in the church. The clergymen and the personnel of the Armenian Diocese in Tbilisi were inflicted injuries, while one of the clergymen was ripped off a cross.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;">The press release urges the Georgian authorities to investigate these actions, which are obviously based on ethnic and religious hatred.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;">The Armenian Church believes that such incidents are the result of the anti-Armenian campaign pursued by some Media sources in Georgia, backed by the representatives of the Georgian Orthodox Church.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;">The press release ends with a call for refraining from spreading anti-Armenian sentiments in the society.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>Photo: Saint Etchmiadzin Armenian Church in Tbilisi, Georgia</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>Address of the Church in Tbilisi</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>Holy Church in Georgia</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>18, Armazi Street, 0103 Tbilisi, Georgia</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>Phone: +995 32 2546411</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>Fax: +995 32 2751790</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>Email: contact@armenianchurch.ge</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 14.949999809265137px;"><b>Website: www.armenianchurch.ge</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-78943714484652011172014-07-20T14:28:00.001+04:002014-07-20T14:49:24.867+04:00Campaign for creating Armenian Charity Diabetic Support Center<div dir="ltr"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="465" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vWAJ5apfzwI" width="620"></iframe> <br /><div class="gmail_default"><div class="" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221,221,221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(221,221,221); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 30px;"><div class="" id="tabanchor" style="margin-top: 15px;"><br /></div><div class="" id="tabanchor" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Benton Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 46px; margin-top: 15px;"><b>Diabetes isn't just a disease; it's a way of life with blood glucose meters, diet, and challenges.</b></div><div class="" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 5px;"><b><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Benton Sans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">Efforts are&nbsp;accelerated&nbsp;to create the&nbsp;</span></span></b><b style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: 'Benton Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Armenian Charity Diabetic Support Center (ACDSC)</b></div><div class="" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Benton Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;">This will be a specialized medical and educational center with professional staff and self-help group that can provide medical, educational, social, and emotional support for people affected by diabetes.</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;">People, especially children and disabled adults from socially disadvantaged families, will get free health services and treatment and will find strength by communicating with others who experience similar needs.</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;">The Center has announced the following goals:<br /><br /><b>To help Armenia diabetics to solve their health problems and enable them on their turn to help others.</b></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>To offer comprehensive diabetes management and education program for children</b>. &nbsp;</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>To offer individually tailored and group education sessions for diabetes self-management, including blood sugar (glucose) monitoring, nutrition guidelines, carbohydrate counting and meal planning, medication management, insulin adjustment and lifestyle change.</b></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>The Center is asking for the public's support to purchase 20 units of medical equipment with a total cost $93,630</b>.<br /><br />The acquisition of such equipment will allow concurrent charitable services to diabetics and paid services to those who can afford to pay. Additional money will be spent on obtaining medicines and educational materials for the main group of beneficiaries.</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>Why is there a need?</b></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><i>Diabetes mortality rate remains high in Armenia and it is third leading cause of mortality in Armenia.</i></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>What they have accomplished so far</b></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;">In 2012, U.S. Peace Corps' volunteer, Stewart Brewster, suggested the idea of a Diabetes Support Group for Noyemberyan. Mr. Brewster developed the goals and objectives of this group and with a motivated group of diabetics started monthly meetings. The ACDSC initiate group founded Noyemberyan Diabetes Support Group, the first such diabetes support group in Armenia.<br /><br />It was soon apparent that the diabetes wellness program would not be successful unless the members could regularly measure their glucose and learn wellness methods to minimize excess blood glucose.<br /><br />Cooperating with "Concern-Energomash" CJSC, which is the exclusive distributor for "ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS GMBH" (Germany) in Armenia, the initiative group distributed about 500 free glucose meters in Tavush Region. This was the first time the members ever owned a meter. &nbsp;</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;">This experience was very successful and a lot of people from all 11 regions of Republic of Armenia were interested to become a member of the Center.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;">Thousands of requests from different regions of Armenia led them to think about the creation of the charity diabetes care center on the state level. For this purpose, at the beginning of 2014, the initiative group registered Charity Foundation called "Healthy Child". Mrs. Narine Arustamyan was named as the president of the center.</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;">The Charity Center purchased a 4 storey building in Artashat town (Ararat Region) to provide medical and educational services to socially disadvantaged diabetics from all over Armenia. Artashat location was convenient for visiting patients from all 11 regions of Armenia.<br /><br />The Charitable Foundation has a Board&nbsp; with 7 members: 6 doctors and the head of Noyemberyan Diabetics Support Centre.<br /><br />In April 2014, the Board members managed to conclude a cooperation agreement with the "Grand Holding" Charity Foundation with the annual donation fund of $100,000, which will be spent on medicines and 6 doctors' salary.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 15px;">Since 2014 the Center is also a partner with WiRED International Organization (<a href="http://www.wiredinternational.org/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #0eb4b6; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.wiredinternational.org</a>).<br /><b><br /></b>To read more about the project, statistics about diabetes in Armenia or services of the Armenian Charity Diabetic Support Center, please contact Hasmik Azibekyan at <a href="mailto:h.azibekyan@gmail.com">h.azibekyan@gmail.com</a>&nbsp;<br /><br /></div></div><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="font-family: 'Benton Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;"><b><span style="color: red;">Link for participating in the donation campaign:</span></b></div><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Benton Sans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/armenian-charity-diabetic-support-center-acdsc#home">https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/armenian-charity-diabetic-support-center-acdsc#home</a></span></span><br /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Benton Sans, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-37416951355222813072014-07-20T03:33:00.001+04:002014-07-20T03:40:02.685+04:00The Family That Saved a Village<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #1d9ae2; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; width: 100%px;"> <tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 600px;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 9px 18px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="18" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border-collapse: collapse; border: 2px solid rgb(153,153,153); width: 100%px;"> <tbody><tr><td style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" valign="top"><div style="text-align: center;">A story from <a href="http://armeniafund.wpengine.com/">Armenia Fund blog</a><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><a href="http://armeniafund.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e61d58dfc7a4c5fbad6822efa&amp;id=f40782d7a1&amp;e=f41d049151" style="color: #6dc6dd; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><img align="none" height="338" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e61d58dfc7a4c5fbad6822efa/images/a425bc26-1300-4895-a6d1-3bd7cea55428.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 338px; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 510px;" width="510" /></a>&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">"I would need much more than one wish to make this village alive again." This was how the mayor of Ditavan, Seyran Sargsyan, responded years ago when asked which issue he would want solved if he was granted one magic wish.<br /> <br />The 19th century village sits about 1.2 miles from the Azerbaijani border. Most of the 120 families are farmers, although some of their lands are under occupation or uninhabitable due to the constant threat of Azerbaijani sniper fire. The infrastructure crumbling due to a lack of repairs, life in Ditatvan, as the Mayor Sargsyan suggested, was drear.<br /> <br />After a thorough assessment of the village's needs as part of its Rural Development Program, launched in 2007, Armenia Fund announced a call for support to its donors. The Ekserciyan family, Armen and his wife Nadya, took note and answered. With their generous contributions to several projects over the past several years, the village is now a different place. &nbsp;(<a href="http://blog.armeniafund.org/?p=1116">Click here for the full&nbsp;article</a>)<span style="line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-family: arial,'helvetica neue',helvetica,sans-serif;">.<br /> <a href="http://armeniafund.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e61d58dfc7a4c5fbad6822efa&amp;id=a5bfd4544c&amp;e=f41d049151" style="color: #6dc6dd; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><img align="none" height="340" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e61d58dfc7a4c5fbad6822efa/images/dd0385f7-66be-496e-b025-6f97c52eb999.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 340px; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 510px;" width="510" /></a></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 17.77777862548828px;"><strong>Above:</strong>&nbsp;Cooking with Natural Gas</span><br /><strong style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: lato,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://armeniafund.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=e61d58dfc7a4c5fbad6822efa&amp;id=7d23455344&amp;e=f41d049151" style="color: #6dc6dd; font-weight: normal; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><img align="none" height="315" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e61d58dfc7a4c5fbad6822efa/images/af4a3e83-14f6-4695-8c8c-d4b2e92dd8e2.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 315px; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 510px;" width="510" /></a></strong><br /><strong style="font-size: 17.77777862548828px;">Above:</strong><span style="font-size: 17.77777862548828px;">&nbsp;Outside the New School</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-33524923899578324022014-07-19T23:40:00.001+04:002014-07-19T23:40:24.351+04:00Haleb (Aleppo) Armenian Community<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style><div class="gmail_default" style><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Written by Levon Sharoyan for &quot;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/armaleppo">Aleppo Armenians</a>&quot; and &quot;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ArmenianCultural">Armenian Cultural</a>&quot; Facebook pages. </span><br> </div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Translated by Vahe H. Apelian for Keghart publication</span><br> </div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">For Armenians in Armenia and in Diaspora the Armenian community of Aleppo was isolated, self contained and traditional. It did not portray the luster and the flamboyance of the Paris, Los Angeles and even Beirut Armenian communities. The latter in fact - I hope it would not mind me stating - regarded Aleppo as a backward village. For consolation they had crowned us as the "Mother Diaspora Community" and we were happy with the coronation.</font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The unprecedented turn of events in the last three years due to the civil war in Syria and especially the deliberate destructions of Kessab and of the Aleppo Armenian neighborhood of Nor Kyugh, focused the attention of the Diaspora on the one time "Mother Diaspora Community", the "Dreamy Haleb". Every body started lamenting the possible loss of the community. Armenian Diaspora was mobilized to save its Haleb community to safeguard its values, but alas …"after breakage"… </font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">What were the characteristics of this community that the Diaspora is intent on safeguarding?</font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">It is life's unmistakable order that we appreciate the value of a thing after losing it. But let us for a moment put our heads together and ponder as to the values of the Haleb community that are worth saving. What were the distinguishing characteristics of this community? What did the Haleb Armenian community offer that the others do not as well? I will present a cursory listing of these characteristics and I will let the readers do the critical and in depth evaluation. </font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Let us begin the with community's religious and church lives.</font></div> <div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style><font color="#0b5394" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Haleb hosts eleven Christian denominations among them the three mainstream Armenian denominations: Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical in alphabetical listing. Each denomination is well organized and very active. The religious and church lives of the Haleb Armenian community have always been exemplary. The Holy Forty Martyrs Church of the Armenian Apostolic denomination dates back more than five hundred years. Our churches have always been full to capacity on Sundays and on Holidays. "Capacity crowd" typically exemplified the attendance of the Haleb Armenian churches. Should you ever have attended the early mass during the holidays you would have remained mesmerized by our all-volunteer large choirs. I would like to emphasize on the word "volunteer" because in Europe and in the United States even the scribe (դպիրներ) are paid. Weddings and baptisms had to be booked months in advance because there were so many them. I can insist that the Haleb Armenian community's rich and traditional church life may have come second only to Istanbul's. We had a very rich church life here. No wonder that the Seminarians in Antelias liked to come to Aleppo to perform mass. No other Armenian community could possibly have matched the imperial like reception community extended to the visiting Catholicos during his pontifical visit.</font></div> </div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-4778988798931015452014-07-19T19:57:00.001+04:002014-07-19T19:57:07.346+04:00Turkey - Armenia fellowship scheme deadline is extended to 31st of July<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(11,83,148)"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> <b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12pt"><img alt="" src="http://www.sinapsiletisim.com/mailing/beyond.jpg"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> <br><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:&#39;Times New Roman&#39;;font-size:12pt"><br>TURKEY-ARMENIA FELLOWSHIP SCHEME DEADLINE IS EXTENDED TO 31<sup>ST</sup> OF JULY!<u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> <b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:&#39;Times New Roman&#39;;color:black;font-size:12pt">63 organisations from Turkey, 25 from Armenia are ready to act as Host Organisations for fellows from the neighbouring country.<u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:&#39;Times New Roman&#39;;color:black;font-size:12pt">The </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:&#39;Times New Roman&#39;;font-size:12pt">Hrant Dink Foundation<b><span style="color:black"> has established the </span></b><a name="1474a42ce4d00762__GoBack" style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"></a>Turkey-Armenia Fellowship Scheme<b><span style="color:black"> with a</span></b></span><span style="font-family:&#39;Times New Roman&#39;;color:black;font-size:12pt"> view to promote cross-border affiliation and cooperation of professionals from the two neighbouring countries within the framework of the programme <em>Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process</em> financed by the <strong>European Union</strong>. The Fellowship Scheme will offer <strong>18 professionals</strong> from Armenia and Turkey the opportunity to live and follow a special programme at a specific <strong>Host Organisation</strong> in the neighbouring country for <strong>4 to 8 months</strong>. Individuals are also invited to propose their <strong>own project ideas</strong>, other than the fellowship opportunities offered by the listed Host Organisations.<br> <br>The Fellowship Scheme aims to enable cross-border learning opportunities in areas where further exchange of expertise and lasting cooperation is much needed, such as <strong>academia, civil society, media, culture and arts, translation and interpreting/language-learning and law</strong>.<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black">For more information about the Fellowship Scheme and the programs offered by the Host Organisations </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.hrantdink.org/?Detail=1080&amp;Lang=&amp;Home&amp;Lang=ar&amp;Home&amp;Lang=tr&amp;Home&amp;Lang=en" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff">please click here</font></a><span style="color:black">.</span></span><span lang="HY" style="color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p align="center" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;text-align:center"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span><span lang="HY" style="color:black"><img alt="" src="http://www.sinapsiletisim.com/mailing/euro.jpg"><br> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black">The Turkey-Armenia Fellowship Scheme <br>is financed by the European Union,<br>within the framework of the programme<br><em>Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process</em>.<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p align="center" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;text-align:center"><span style="color:black"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> <span lang="HY" style="font-family:&#39;Times New Roman&#39;;font-size:12pt"><u></u><img alt="" src="http://www.sinapsiletisim.com/mailing/hrant.jpg"> </span></p></div> </div> Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-34501919028888924982009-08-17T16:07:00.002+04:002014-07-19T20:54:21.847+04:00New settlement for Iraqi Armenians in Darbnik village<br /><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" class="normaltext" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="justify"><div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><em><a href="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-01.jpg"><img align="left" alt="Darbnik settlement" border="3" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-01.jpg" height="237" hspace="5" style="height: 237px; width: 315px;" vspace="5" width="315" /></a>Azad-Hye Special</em></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><em><br /></em></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">About 15 kilometers south of Yerevan, in the neighborhood of<strong>&nbsp;Darbnik</strong>&nbsp;village in Ararat Marz (Province), a new residential block for Iraqi Armenian refugees have been inaugurated recently.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: blue;">An old agricultural school, which was provided to the&nbsp;<strong>United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees&nbsp;</strong>(UNHCR) by the government of Armenia, has been rehabilitated for this purpose.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">The building is made of 46 apartments. Currently more than half of the apartments are occupied by Iraqi Armenians, who were facing difficulties in meeting their rents in apartments in the capital Yerevan. Now they can stay in this block without rental charges.&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">Azad Markarian&nbsp;</span></strong>one of the young Iraqi Armenians who moved into the block with his mother and family of two daughters, said that the residential block relieves him from some extra burden, but still he will be facing daily transportation expenses to reach Yerevan where his working place is located. To make matters worse, there is no regular mini-bus service with Yerevan.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">Azad's mother who is taking care of her two granddaughters said that the situation looks better than before, but "we are going to face a new sort of problems". She explained that in autumn when the schools will reopen it would be difficult to take the kids to the village for schooling. "Besides that, there is no kindergarten system in the village and we will have to stay with the kids all the time at home, in a closed environment, away from the type of life we used to know in Yerevan". This reminds the Armenian refugees who came two decades ago from urban areas in Azerbaijan and were obliged to start a new life in rural areas, where their skills did not match the new realities.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">Grandmother Markarian referred also to the lack of medical services. "At a certain age, medical help becomes crucial. At a remote place like this it will be difficult to find solutions for our medical and health issues, let aside the expenses that can incur."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Obviously, the main challenge the 1.000 and more Iraqi Armenians face in Armenia is the lack of working opportunities. “If job was available, no one would have opted to come and live here”, noted an Iraqi Armenian who did not want to disclose his name.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">The caretaker of the complex&nbsp;<strong><span style="color: blue;">Sahak Abrahamyan</span></strong>&nbsp;was very proud in undertaking his mission. "Iraqi Armenians will find a safe haven here and will focus on their every day life with less financial headaches", he said.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">The opening ceremony (on 03 July 2009) was attended by government officials, diplomats, local businesses, UN workers.&nbsp;<strong><span style="color: red;">Bushra Halepota</span></strong>,<strong>&nbsp;</strong>UNHCR Representative to Armenia,&nbsp;thanked all those who contributed in the noble mission of providing a dignified life to the new residents of Darbnik.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">Several sides cooperated in coming up with the project. The government of Armenia provided the building and secured gas and electricity networks, while the US Embassy supplied furniture for the apartments.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">Iraqi refugees in Armenia live in Yerevan and nearby provinces of Ararat and Kotayk. They struggle to secure financial means for their families, while their children face challenges related to lingual and social integration in the new society. The main problem however remains the affordable housing.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">The Migration Agency in the Ministry of Territorial Administration takes care of the refugee needs in general (including refugees of non-Armenian origin). This Agency also is responsible for facilitating the return of many ex-Armenian citizens, who have been living outside since the collapse of the Soviet Union.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">Since 1999&nbsp;<strong><span style="color: red;">Gagik Yeganyan</span></strong>&nbsp;has been the head of the Migration Agency at the Ministry of Territorial Administration. In April 2006, Yeganyan was elected as Deputy Chair of the European Committee on Migration (in the Council of Europe).</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;">Being close to zones of conflict, Armenia occasionally hosts refugees from neighboring countries. The Armenian - Azeri conflict and the Nagorno - Karabakh issue triggered a flow of more than 300 thousand ethnic Armenians, 70% of them have not yet acquired Armenian citizenship (out of their own will), after almost 20 years in independent Armenia. During the Israeli attack on Lebanon in 2006, Armenia received about 350 requests for asylum, while recently during the Iranian internal turmoil, following the elections, there were fears for refugees coming from Iran.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://www.azad-hye.net/news/viewnews.asp?newsId=621azgl41">http://www.azad-hye.net/news/viewnews.asp?newsId=621azgl41</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span><br /><table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt; height: 4054px; width: 531px;"><tbody><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;"><img align="baseline" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-01.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;">The road leads to the residential complex in Darbnik</span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;"><img align="baseline" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-02.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;">A side view of the residential block</span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;"><img align="baseline" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-03.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;">Inner side of the block where there is a volleyball net</span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;"><img align="baseline" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-05.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;">Azad Markarian in the shade near the entrance of the building</span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;"><img align="baseline" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-06.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;">Grandmother Markarian holds Narineh</span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;"><img align="baseline" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-07.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;">Children inside an apartment spend their summer time by painting</span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;"><img align="baseline" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-08.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;">Sahak Abrahamyan, the care-taker of the residential block</span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;"><img align="baseline" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/i1/iraqi-armenian-residential-block-09.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></span></strong></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: #003300; font-size: x-small;">The mayor of nearby Hayanist village (left) and Ashot Vardanian, the Head of the Department of Territorial Administration in the Ararat Province (right). They visit the complex frequently and look after the needs of the inhabitants.</span></strong></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr><tr></tr></tbody></table>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-54082113540292426952009-08-17T16:07:00.001+04:002014-07-19T20:48:28.698+04:00Ara Papian's book on Wilsonian borders and other subjects<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><em>Azad-Hye Special</em></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><em><br /></em></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;">The 3rd edition of&nbsp;<strong>Ara Papian</strong>'s "Legal Bases for Armenians Claims" has been published recently in Yerevan.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">(Click&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/e1/ara-papian-legal-bases-for-armenian-claims-2009.pdf"><span style="background-color: yellow;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: yellow;">&nbsp;to get a full version of the book, PDF format, 187 pages, 1.3 MB)</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="background-color: yellow;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">This edition is based on previous editions (Yerevan 2007, Toronto 2008), but includes additional articles covering the period until July 2009.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">More than two third of the 187 page-book is in Armenian language with several articles in Russian and English (<em><strong>see below list of English articles</strong></em>).&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Ara Papian has been studying documents related to the famous "<strong><span style="color: blue;">Wilsonian borders</span></strong>" between Armenia and Turkey which was signed by the 28th American president&nbsp;<strong>Woodrow Wilson</strong>.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Papian considers that these documents are the only ones with legal force regarding the borders between the two countries and can serve as a base to claim our rights at the UN's&nbsp;<strong>International Court&nbsp;</strong>to territories like Van, Erzurum, Bitlis and Trapizon, which were indicated in Wilson's map within the Armenian borders. He insists that present-day Armenia should study well the "Wilsonian borders" as a legal document.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1961, Ara Papian is a gradute of the&nbsp;<strong>Department of Oriental Studies&nbsp;</strong>of Yerevan State University (1984). In 1994, he graduated from the<strong>Moscow Diplomatic Academy&nbsp;</strong>and in 1998, from&nbsp;<strong>NATO Defense College&nbsp;</strong>in Rome.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">He has worked in several departments in the&nbsp;<strong>Ministry of Foreign Affairs&nbsp;</strong>in Armenia and posted to the Armenian Embassy in Tehran, Iran (1992 - 1993) as&nbsp;second secretary. He has also served in the Armenian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania as second secretary and later as Charge d'Affaires (1995 - 1997). His latest diplomatic post was Ambassador of Armenia to Canada (2000 - 2006).</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Before joining the diplomatic life he worked as Professor of the Armenian language and literature at&nbsp;<strong>Melkonian Educational Institute&nbsp;</strong>in Nicosia, Cyprus.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Papian is the Head of "<strong><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.wilsonforarmenia.org/index.htm">Modus Vivendi</a></span></strong>" Center for Social Science, a Non-Governmental Organization found in 1999 with the mission of "<strong><em>solving the regional problems by peaceful means through International Law</em></strong>".</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;">The English articles in the book&nbsp;<strong>"</strong><strong>Legal Bases for Armenians Claims"</strong>&nbsp;are the followings:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;">Declaration: for reclaiming the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia on part of the territory stipulated to the Republic of Armenia by international law /draft/ (pages 111-115).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;">The Arbitral Award on Turkish-Armenian Boundary by Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States of America (pages 150 - 168).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;">The Legal Interrelation between the Treaty of Sevres and the Treaty Lausanne (pages 169 - 175).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;">Unlawfully Confiscated American Property in Turkey: Problems and Perspectives for the Indemnification and Compensation (176 - 181).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong>Website of "Modus Vivendi":</strong>&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /><a href="http://www.wilsonforarmenia.org/index.htm">http://www.wilsonforarmenia.org/index.htm</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">Ara Papian's book could be downloaded also from our Electronic Library&nbsp;</span></strong><a href="http://www.azad-hye.net/download/viewdownloads.asp?ctn=112az92"><strong>here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6936702.post-34534504442644923812009-08-17T16:07:00.000+04:002014-07-19T20:54:04.848+04:00The first group of Come Home participants end their program of activities<br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><em><img align="left" alt="Come Home" border="1" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/d1/come-home-01.jpg" height="236" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="320" />Azad-Hye Special</em></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><em><br /></em></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">The first round of "Come Home" project finished on 30 July 2009</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;">On 22 July 2009, Minister of Diaspora&nbsp;<strong>Hranush Hakobian</strong>&nbsp;met the Diasporan Armenian young persons who arrived in Armenia within the framework of the&nbsp;<strong>Come Home</strong>&nbsp;(<em>Ari Tun</em>) project.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">The Minister began her speech with the words "<strong>Welcome to your Ministry</strong>", then she expressed gratitude to the families that will be hosting the visitors, as well as the schools where lessons will be held.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Hakobian noted that within the framework of the program the participants will have the chance to visit places of interest in Armenia and gain friendships. "You are infected with Armenian virus on condition of never getting cured," Hranush Hakobian noted wittingly, expressing the conviction that next year the number of participants will immensely grow.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">"Being the citizens of another country, remember that Armenia is your homeland. Sarians, Aznavours, Kerkorians should be born among you," the Minister added.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">After noting that this year's program is experimental, she said that next year's program will be held according to age groups.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">"A bridge was created which is impossible to destroy. This bridge is eternal. The Come Home program will always call the Diasporan Armenians." Hakobian stressed. She presented "<strong>Wonders of Armenia</strong>" encyclopedia as a gift to all participants.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">On 23 July 2009 the participants visited the Armenian National Gallery, Yerevan State University and Shant TV.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">In the Armenian National Gallery the young people began discovering the bright colors of the Armenian Highland, painted by&nbsp;<strong>Martiros Sarian&nbsp;</strong>and other masters of the Armenian fine arts.&nbsp;<strong><span style="color: blue;">Aram Simonian</span></strong>, head of Yerevan State University gave a briefing about the university and its teaching system. On the same evening they participated in the Folk Dances program at Shant TV, displaying dancing techniques they have gained during the last few days.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">On 27 July 2009, as a field activity related to "Learn about our native land" interactive class, the young participants visited&nbsp;<strong>Khor Virap&nbsp;</strong>church complex and got acquainted with the history of the region. They went down the vertical stairs to the basement where&nbsp;<strong>Saint Gregory the Illuminator&nbsp;</strong>was imprisoned.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Ararat region's Deputy Governor&nbsp;<strong>Samvel Mirzoyan&nbsp;</strong>met the participants and accompanied them to the&nbsp;<strong>Charles Aznavour Cultural Palace&nbsp;</strong>in the city of&nbsp;<strong>Artashat</strong>, where they took part in a program called "Let's sing and dance Armenian".</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">At the end of the day the participants went to&nbsp;<strong>Gabriel Sundukian Theatre&nbsp;</strong>in Yerevan, where they watched "<strong>Khatabala</strong>" play, performed by the “<strong>Petros Adamian</strong>” Armenian theatre group from Tbilisi, Georgia.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">On 30 July 2009 evening, in Sevan, President&nbsp;<strong>Serzh Sargsyan</strong>&nbsp;met the young participants on the last day of their visit. He gave a briefing about the current political situation in the region and the Turkish - Armenian relations. He noted that Armenia did the maximum, expressed good will in spite of the problems and offered to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without any preconditions. "We negotiated for a whole year, coordinated two documents, but after that some Turkish ruling circles presented as a precondition the Nagorno Karabakh settlement and the issue of Armenian-Azeri relations," he elaborated.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Sargsyan underlined that "our grandfathers managed to give us a small Armenia, and we must hand over our small but biblical and very beautiful country to our children." He attached importance to the "Come Home" program, which gives an opportunity to the Diasporan Armenian young people to feel the Armenian spirit, deal with Armenian history and culture.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Sargsyan underlined that Armenia is entirely a different one with Diaspora. “The time will come when&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">"we will be mighty and I am sure that you will see it", he emphasized.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">The Diasporan Armenian young people were interested in the citizenship of Armenia, and in response to that Sargsyan noted that no Diasporan Armenian has a problem of being granted citizenship.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobian said that more than 100 people from Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Syria, Egypt and France participated in the first round of the program. The next group will follow soon and this will continue till the end of October, hosting a total of 500 people by then.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">"The program has a great moral, psychological, political and historical significance. We have set a task that our Diasporan children come, live in our families, get acquainted with the mode of life here and also gain friends ... they will return to their countries with stronger Armenian spirit to continue the most important and necessary program of the preservation of Armenian nation, which is to stay loyal to the Armenian identity, community, church and state," Hakobian said.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">According to the Minister, during the visit of all 500 young people 20 mln drams (about US$ 53.000) will be spent.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong>Initial information and photos obtained from&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.hayernaysor.am/">www.hayernaysor.am</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #003300;">Photos:&nbsp;</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #003300;"><br />1- Upper-left: At the Armenian National Gallery, admiring works by famous sea painter Ayvazovski.</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #003300;"><br />2- Minister Hranush Hakobian welcomes the participants of the first group.</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #003300;"><br />3 and 4 - Meeting with President Serzh Sargsyan.</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #003300;"><br /></span></strong></div><table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" style="height: 984px; width: 261px;"><tbody><tr><td><img align="baseline" alt="Come Home" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/d1/come-home-02.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></td></tr><tr><td><img align="baseline" alt="Come Home" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/d1/come-home-03.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></td></tr><tr><td><img align="left" alt="Come Home" border="0" src="http://www.azad-hye.net/media/d1/come-home-04.jpg" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Hrach Kalsahakianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720292406683197546noreply@blogger.com0